Wisconsin Has Wildflowers Too

I was missing my wildflower hikes so much when we got home that I went online to see what the Wisconsin DNR had to offer me.  What they had was a series of wildflower hikes that started this weekend in Kettle Moraine.  Score!

Now, finding wildflowers in Wisconsin is not like finding them in the Smokies.  No find-it-yourself stuff up here, you have to know where to go.  Our guide, Don, led a caravan of cars to a hidden gem near the town of Palmyra.

Don explained that the area was damp due to the Bark River overflowing its banks.  The wildflowers loved it there!

False Rue Anemone

Cut Leaved Toothwort

There was even some Bloodroot open already.  Ours seems much smaller than the plants I saw in Tennessee.

Bloodroot

Hepatica

Hepatica

Don told us to feel free to spread out and explore.  I gravitated toward the swampy section, hoping to see something different, but no luck.

Start 'em young!

Trillium open soon....

 I kept moving out toward the flooded area, drawn in by the sound of frogs.  I got ankle deep in my waterproof boots, but those frogs were almost too fast for my eyes much less my camera lens.

So I moved back in to the woods to admire some more blooms.

Spring Beauty

Ladybugs like wildflowers too

The wildflower I was most excited to see was Dutchman's Britches since I wasn't able to find any while in Tennessee.  The little plants were plentiful but tricky to photograph.

Dutchman's Britches

Click photo to see the texture on this one!

There was one wildflower that I didn't get identified.  That's what happens when you wander off from the group.

After wandering around for a little over an hour everyone headed back to their vehicles.  I made some new friends who let me follow them to their next wildflower viewing spot where we got to see some Pasque Flowers and Prairie Smoke.  It pays to be nosy and eavesdrop!  

I'll save those photos for Tuesday, tomorrow it's Monday Mural and I have something to share from our stop in Kentucky on our way back home from the Smokies.  Today it's sunny and the wind is gone....where shall I go?